Director: Jason CabellYear: 2019
Rated R
Rating: * * 1/2 Stars
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Leslie Bibb, Barry Pepper, Adam Goldberg
Running with the Devil is my latest review. And no, it has nothing to do with that 1978 ditty sung by the mighty David Lee Roth. Released in the US (and Serbia) via September of this year, "Devil" is helmed by a rookie in actor turned director Jason Cabell. Yup, Cabell is like that guy who wants to measure his manliness. He plays too many darn hands at the cinematic poker table.
Starring the likes of a hefty Nicolas Cage, a horny/hefty Laurence Fishburne, Leslie Bibb, and Barry Pepper, Running with the Devil "runs" adrift in its over-coincidental narrative and host of too many nameless characters who don't say a lot (or don't say enough). I was perversely engrossed though because Jason Cabell goes thriller, ambiance rogue. He seems hellbent on turning "Devil" into 2000's Traffic minus any hint of art or independent vehicle-ness.Running with the Devil is a poster boy drug movie that garners a "running" time of 100 minutes. Those 100 minutes that cross scores of countries and weave mounds of story lines, feel like two-plus hours. Bloodied bodies hit the floor, lots of happenstances abound, twists are aplenty, kilo globetrotting is a mainstay, and numerous scenes are cut rather quickly. The editing in regards to "Devil", appears as if it was done by 3-5 people who couldn't come to a mutual agreement. To my dismay, only veteran Jordan Goldman was locked in that room.
All in all, "Devil's" cast looks seething, smoldering, and appears game. However, "Devil's" whole synopsis about drug cartel aides who track cocaine shipments and the FBI agents that follow them, seems disconcerted. Its effect simply wears you out. This film might have felt more relevant had it come out before the whole Layer Cake/Traffic/True Romance phase via many years ago. Rating: I'll play "devil's" advocate and give Running with the Devil a generous 2 and a half stars.Written by Jesse Burleson
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